1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to personal security and, more particularly, to a non-lethal, hand-held device and/or system which obtains and transmits data including location and assailant identification data to police for both immediate response and longer-term pursuit of the assailant if not immediately apprehended.
2. Description of Prior Art
Far too many people have experienced, or have personal knowledge about, an attack or mugging during daylight or nighttime. Crimes of this nature in cities both large and small throughout the nation may seem on the increase. Obviously, the likelihood of such an unfortunate experience increases if one frequents dangerous neighborhoods. However, certain ordinary business activity, such as, for example, a landlord attempting to collect his/her rent, may require traveling through dangerous neighborhoods. Prior art deterrent devices include lethal or dangerous weapons such as handguns, knives, clubs, mace, etc. Unfortunately, these weapons can be wrestled-away by an assailant and used against the victim! Also, dangerous weapons such as pistols which are normally stored at a user's home when not being carried, if not properly controlled, can be taken by unauthorized individuals like children who can use them to accidentally injure or kill others.
Non-lethal prior art devices may therefore be more desirable for ordinary citizens to possess, at least from an overall safety viewpoint. Such devices include whistles, sirens, or other forms of alarms which can be limited in their usefulness under certain adverse conditions, for example, where the whistle cannot be heard above background noise. Some have resorted to being accompanied by attack dogs, e.g. German shepherd police-type dogs, but this approach then requires maintenance of that dog on a 24-hour, 7-day per week basis, which is not feasible for everyone. What is needed is an effective and non-lethal protection technique for use by ordinary citizens which can deter an attacker and simultaneously provide critical information to the local police when confronted. The present invention utilizes high technology capabilities to satisfy this need in a novel manner.